Akemi Suzaku leads the Suzaku Association, a corporation overseeing trading companies in Tokyo and Shanghai while secretly running a vast human trafficking network across East and Southeast Asia. Her organization profits from exploiting vulnerable families in impoverished regions, buying children as commodities.

She maintains strict control over her criminal operations but confronts challenges from the Chinese branch under Liu Xiao. This faction exploits China's economic growth for greater autonomy, fueling tensions rooted in historical Japan-China animosities. Akemi's personal life is marked by her son's rejection of the family business and flight, leaving her without an heir. This void becomes pivotal when Makoto Edamura infiltrates her organization under false pretenses.

Developing a genuine maternal attachment, Akemi views Makoto as a surrogate son and potential successor. She gifts him a cat-patterned tie, a symbol of trust and affection. Unaware he is part of Laurent Thierry's con, she promotes Makoto within her syndicate. His rise is aided by societal privileges like his Japanese ethnicity and lighter skin tone, contrasting starkly with the Southeast Asian children her network exploits.

Her trust leads her to involve Makoto deeply in operations, including rival negotiations. However, Makoto's loyalty is a ruse; he ultimately betrays her to dismantle the trafficking ring. In the climax, Akemi witnesses Makoto's apparent death during a boat confrontation, unaware this is staged as part of the team's exit strategy, ensuring she experiences no further betrayal from the figure she considered family.